Second Chances
by WoCoBelle
Summary: James and Alexandra are still competing, with Jackie as their coach. When something causes Alexandra to have to quit the team, James must compete with Jackie's cousin Hannah, and everyone must work with Alex Harrison and Zach Conroy. I only own Hannah.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE **

"Mr. Harrison….Mr. Harrison… Mr. Harrison, your table is ready"

The hostess sounded more than just a little irritated with Alex, and who could blame her? The poor girl had scrambled to move him to a table where he wouldn't have to watch the TV, and now she couldn't get his attention away from it to try and seat him again. She finally was able to lead him to his table and put the menus down without a word, not even bothering to ask if he needed anything while he waited.

When Zach was more than his usual couple of minutes late to dinner, Alex knew that he too had been watching the competition. He wondered if Zach had the same range of emotions watching it that he himself had. Alex had almost gotten used to it. He had the same feeling five years ago watching Jackie coach Zach and Alexandra to victory, Now, it was no longer Zach going for gold with Alexandra, and that had to effect him in some way.

Alex waved Zach over to the table, as he took a Michelob Light out of the bucket for him.

"Long time, no see. How was Vegas?"

Zach accepted the beer as he proceeded to tell Alex about all the excitement the lights, casinos, and crowd brought. And how glad he was to be back home. Sure, he loved being behind the scenes of hot, new athletes, but after a couple of weeks of it, he needed a break. Especially when he remembers what it was like to be those guys. He probably wouldn't have been able to make it through his first few months of his job if Alex hadn't been such a great friend. Alex had lived the same story as Zach, if not more dramatic. At least Zach and Alexandra had realized they couldn't survive as a couple off the ice before there were vows involved.

"So, did you catch Nationals this weekend" Zach figured he might as well go ahead and get the elephant in the room out there.

"Tried not to, but then I got mesmerized."

"Yeah, they were really something out there. I'm actually glad that Alexandra found someone to keep skating with. She deserves it"

"I can't decide how I feel about Jackie getting success again. I just don't understand how she can get back out there for others, but she couldn't do it for us."

"I told you man, when I approached her years ago about coaching us, she didn't seem too keen on it. I think it may have helped her heal to see others doing what she felt she couldn't. I have no real answer for you, though. Sorry."

Neither really wanted to continue talking about ice skating, so they ordered and turned the conversation to business. Both continued to think back on it, though.

Thousands of miles away, Hannah threw open the apartment door and angrily marched to her closet. She started pulling out shoes, hair ribbons, and uniforms. How could she have been so stupid?

Almost three years ago, Hannah had pushed her skates and glitter costumes to the back of her closet and made room for poms' and polyester skirts. Now, as she threw all of her cheerleading gear into a trash bag, she reached to pull her ice skating bag from its corner. She held it tight and let the tears fall.

Just when Hannah had gotten the taste of success in skating, her world fell apart. Her father had passed away the week after she had earned her place at Nationals. She was placed in the care of Doug, Walter's younger brother, and his wife Kate. Unfortunately, soon after she went to live with them, their daughter suffered a major injury that soon started to destroy her marriage. It was all too much for the Dorsey family as a whole and Hannah had to escape.

The week before Nationals, Hannah packed her bags and returned home, leaving only a note for her family. She enrolled at Minnesota State. She continued to ice skate in her spare time, but it hurt too much to be on the ice, knowing what she had missed out on. Instead, she immersed herself in college, joining a sorority and taking up cheerleading. Her aunt and uncle continued to try and talk her into returning to the rink until the day they died.

She had gone skating at the family rink the weekend of her uncle's funeral and was surprised to discover that the pain skating had once brought was replaced with a longing to be part of it again. Unfortunately, she had taken too much time off as an individual to compete at that level again. After her cousin's divorce, she knew her heart couldn't take another disappointment from the ice and swore off couples. She has left with no choice but to continue thinking about what might have been and return to the world of cheerleading.

And now, it, too, had broken her heart. Well, maybe not exactly cheerleading itself, but it is what led her to the source of this agony.

The team and cheerleaders were out celebrating the end of season. Hannah had only been on the squad for a couple of years and wasn't as sentimental about it all being over as the rest of the seniors were. As the girls all sat around and discussed how different things had become since their freshman year, Hannah escaped to go get a glass of wine. When a male voice behind in told the bartender to put it on his tab, she turned around to give him a piece of her mind. Instead, she caught herself just staring in awe. She and Jackson spent the rest of the night talking and were inseparable the rest of the school year. They had even decided to stay in school an extra year together so that Jackson could play out his eligibility. Luckily, Hannah was able to cheer again, giving them even more time together. Hannah just knew he was going to propose during graduation.

Well, she at least thought that until about an hour ago.

She walked in to her cheer coach's office to drop off a thank you gift she had gotten her and say goodbye. She didn't expect her to be at graduation for the graduate students since Hannah was the only one on the squad. It was after hours, so she was not surprised when no one was there. She was just going to leave it on the desk and jot a quick note. She was just about to sign her name when Jackson exited the coach's storage closet, wearing only his boxers. Coach Talbot walked out wearing not much more. Hannah just starred and took of running, not listening as they both begged her to come back.

Apparently heartbreak wasn't limited to the world of ice skating – it was everywhere you were willing to give your heart. So Hannah did the only thing she knew how to do – she packed and left, leaving only a note for her roommate with the remainder of the rent.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

Jackie let herself into the house and dropped her bags. She was exhausted - mentally, physically, and emotionally. It was always exhilarating to see Alexandra and James win, but underneath all the excitement, Jackie always felt a little bit of heartbreak. The best part of winning to Alexandra and James was that they got to share it. Jackie had no one to share it with. She got to stand and cheer for her team, alone.

She was so lost in thought and self pity that it took a couple of minutes to notice the shadow on her back porch. She grabbed the closest thing she could find and headed outside to see what it was.

Hannah and Jackie both screamed when Jackie walked outside carrying an old trophy.

"What are you doing here?"

"What do you plan on doing with that?"

The two continued to shout over each other until both broke into laughter and embraced. They then went inside and Jackie poured wine while Hannah explained why she was no longer in Minnesota.

"So, I packed and took a plane to the only place I could think of."

"Wow. I'm sorry sweetie. I never liked that Jackson guy, anyway. Seemed like he only cared about you as part of a "we", not as an individual."

"Yeah, thinking about it on the flight made me realize how much both of probably like the way people looked at our relationship more than we actually liked being IN the relationship. It still hurts, but more pisses me off now."

"Well, you're welcome to stay here as long as you need. And, if you really want to get back into skating, we'll talk about it over brunch tomorrow. Right now, I have a competition to recover from." Jackie kissed the top of her cousin's head and made her way to her bedroom, falling into a deep sleep and dreams of another heartbreaker.

The next morning, the cousins went to have brunch and figure out what Hannah's next move should be. They had just ordered their mimosas when Zach Conroy walked up to say hi.

"Zach, so good to see you. This is my cousin Hannah. Hannah, this is Zach. He's the one that got me into coaching in the first place."

"And I see you're doing quite well at it yet again. Nice to meet you Hannah. Visiting from Minnesota?"

He could tell she was shocked that he knew that she lived there.

"Sorry, my business partner was just talking about you the other day and I remember him saying you were a cheerleader up there."

She nodded in understanding as Jackie looked away. Zach mentally kicked himself for mentioning Alex in front of Jackie, and Hannah seemed to understand that.

"Maybe visiting, maybe for good; debating that right now." She said quickly to get the topic away from Alex. "I've just finished getting my masters and now have to decide what to do with my life."

Jackie's phone rang, and she excused herself, leaving Zach and Hannah to talk.

"I hope I didn't upset Jackie too much mentioning Alex."

"I love her, but if she still gets upset all this time later, then maybe she should do something about it."

"Funny, I kinda wanted to tell him that the other night, too."

Hannah was just opening her mouth to ask Zach for more detail when Jackie frantically approached them.

"Hannah, were you serious about wanting to get back on the ice?"

"I mean, I would love to, I just don't know if I can."

"Well, we need to go find that out NOW. Sorry Zach, good seeing you." Jackie said as she threw down some cash and pulled Hannah away.

Hannah looked back at Zach, wishing they could continue their conversation.

On the way to the rink, Jackie quickly explained to Hannah that she was going to need to find a replacement for Alexandra, SOON. She was hoping that Hannah's natural talent, plus her experience of partner stunting in cheerleading, would make her the perfect candidate. James was going to meet them at the rink soon to see if the plan would work.

When Hannah had said she wanted to get back into skating, she hadn't really had immediately in mind. Surprises happened, though, and she hoped she could help out. She knew how hard it was to be so close to Nationals and walk away.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

Alexandra sat on the back porch, just staring. She was still in shock. This had definitely not been in her long range plan. She was actually okay with not being able to skate for a while, but she hated it for James. She knew first hand what it felt like to lose a partner. It had briefly ended her career; she did not want the same thing to happen to James. She loved him too much for that. That's why she had gotten on the phone with Jackie; she wanted a solution before she even went to James with the problem. Yes, right now, it hurt him that she would talk to the coach before her partner and boyfriend. Hopefully, in the long run, he would thank her for it. Zach would have never thought to do that for her before walking away from the sport. Things might have ended a little more amicably then. She was no longer bitter about that, though. Things had worked out well for her, and she heard the same was true for Zach. Didn't mean she was going to let him be their agent anytime soon, though, even if his firm was the best. Something about her team using ConSon seemed a little too much like a CW show for her.

James skated onto the rink to meet Jackie and the girl standing beside her. He was still not happy about the way Alexandra handled the situation, but he knew he loved both the sport and her enough to eventually get over it. Didn't mean he was gonna wipe the scowl off his face anytime soon, though.

"James, this is my cousin Hannah. I've asked her if she minded coming by to give this a try. I'm sure neither of us wants to go through the long process of finding someone, and, frankly, I don't think we have the time. Hannah, this is James McKinsey"

The two skaters shook hands and immediately began the routine. After the first half hour or so, Hannah was finally getting into the rhythm of things. Everyone was pleasantly surprised. It looked like the team may just be able to appear at Nationals after all. There was still a lot of work to be done, though. The three were going to have to sleep, eat, and skate around the clock, with very little of the first two getting a lot of time and attention.

Zach was surprised to see James skating with Hannah when he walked in. He and Alex had just done a press conference and photo shoot the day before. They were the only ones at the event that were not ConSon clients, and he knew better than to try and change that anytime soon. Not with his ex on the team and his partners ex coaching. Just a little too incestuous for his liking. He hoped one day everything would smooth out enough for that to change; the best deserved the best. He didn't have high hopes, though. Nevertheless, he did have a slight business proposition to discuss with Jackie. He sat in the stands while she finished coaching what appeared to be her new team.

As surprised as Zach was to see Hannah on the ice, Alexandra was even more surprised to see Zach in the stands. Luckily, no one knew she was there. She was in one of the press boxes that no one could see in to. She wasn't sure how James would feel about her being here to check out her replacement. Jackie and Hannah probably wouldn't like it to much, either.

She wondered how they all felt about Zach being here. She knew he wasn't dumb enough to try and persuade Jackie to bring her team over to his firm. Whatever he was here for had to be a pretty big deal. She was fairly certain he hadn't so much as stepped onto the property since the day he walked out, stating that no matter how much he loved

Alexandra, his heart just wasn't into skating anymore.

Sure, they had tried to make it work after that. Alexandra was so bitter about him leaving her to fend for herself that she took everything out on him and completely shut him out. She was surprised when he said things were just too distant for repair in their relationship. Looking back, she had been a fool not to see it coming. Isn't that what she wanted the whole time anyway? To push him away before he had the chance to make the decision on his own? She knew that once they no longer shared skating, there would be nothing left to them. She hadn't even given him a chance to prove her wrong.

When practice was over, James shook hands and immediately took off. He didn't even notice Zach in the stands. The girls on the ice did, though. Hannah was both intrigued and excited; she really wanted to continue their conversation from earlier. Jackie was baffled and hoping that he wasn't there to get some story about how a competing firm's team had to restructure. Their PR firm didn't even know yet! She knew Zach better than that, though, and shook her head at the thought. She walked over to him as Hannah skated off to change.

"To what do I owe this pleasure Mr. Conroy?"

"Well, Jackie, it seems we are in a bit of a pickle." He noted her look of confusion and continued. "It seems the event that my firm has tried so hard to put together to honor athletes who tend to take a backseat to the majors is pending on the one group of people we can't get." Jackie opened her mouth to object, but Zach just kept going. "Now, I know asking if we can represent your team is out of the question, and that's not what I am trying to do at all. I was actually hoping to meet with your firm to work this out, but I wanted to speak to you first. The last thing I wanted to do was blindside you with this."

"That means a lot Zach, thanks. Most people don't actually give the people firms represent a chance to make any of their own decisions, and I really appreciate it. That being said, I am going to have to talk to my team and the PR firm first before I can give you any decision. As you can see, there have been some slight changes that you have found out before the big boys themselves have. I have a meeting with them this evening and will get back to you after that."

"Thanks Jackie. Get back to me as soon as you can, there's a lot riding on this." For some unknown reason, Zach hugged Jackie and walked out, still confused as to her teams change.

Hannah through her stuff in her bag and ran out of the locker room as fast as she could. She tried not to show her disappointment in Zach's absence. No reason to get her aunt all suspicious. She would just have to figure out another way to see him. Mostly, she needed to find a hole in the crazy schedule her cousin had given her that day!


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Hannah had planned to try and get in touch with Zach while Jackie was meeting with the team's PR firm. She passed out on the couch instead. Two hours later, she woke up to someone banging on the door. She looked to see her it was, then luckily caught a quick glance in the mirror before she opened the door. It was obvious she had just joined the living again.

"Just a minute" she said into the intercom before dashing to the powder room in the foyer. Good thing she had dropped her purse there when they got back from practice! She did a quick touch up on her hair and make up and returned to let their guest in. Unfortunately, Jackie had already let him in by the time Hannah got back. It was beyond embarrassing that her cousin and Zach knew she had put off opening the door to primp!

"Hi guys. I didn't know you had gotten home yet Jackie."

"I actually just pulled up, to find poor Zach waiting at the door."

"Sorry about that, I had just gotten up from a nap and didn't want to scare anyone!"

"Well, glad you're awake now. We need to have our first team meeting. James should be here any second."

Right on cue, James walked in, still wearing his unpleasant look. He'd already had a rollercoaster of a day, and he was fairly certain being in a room with Alexandra's ex was not going to help it get any better. Comfortable in Jackie's home, he went straight to the fridge and got himself a beer before joining the others at the table.

"Thanks for coming guys. I know its very last minute, so I really appreciate you all being here. I met with the guys Profess today, and they are less than excited about the team change. With the various ups and downs professionally and personally regarding everyone involved, they say this is a PR nightmare." Jackie looked at the faces around the table and continued. "That said, we will no longer be using their services. I refuse to work with people who don't stand behind us and trust out judgment. I would love to just say to hell with it and put all of our energy into Nationals, but unfortunately, we have commitments that we can't afford to back out of. From the get-go, it was team consensus to use anyone but ConSon," she paused to give Zach an apologetic look, "but I'm not sure we have any other choice at this moment. They understand our sport and how much focus needs to go into last minute changes and can help us with the transition, along with all the mess that may come when the partner change is announced. I need to know that the team is okay with this, though. It's not going to be easy for any of us, but sacrifices have to be made."

Hannah was all too quick to agree, but James had yet to look up from his beer. He stood and without looking at any of them, he agreed and walked out.

Jackie turned to Zach. "I am sure you know this is going to be very hard for me. I imagine it is for you, too. I would like for you and Hannah to handle as much of the communication between the firm in the team as possible. I am not sure anyone else is up to it, yet." She looked over for Hannah's approval. "Good, I'll have Hannah come by between practices tomorrow for paperwork and to get the schedule set in stone. The rest, well, we'll just figure that out as we go." She rose to go get a glass of wine, leaving Hannah and Zach a few minutes alone.

"Wow. It's been quite a day for everyone." Hannah reflected.

"No kidding, it's been one shock after another with your team. I had just let it settle that you would be stepping in when I got the call from Jackie that you guys would be needing my services. And I still don't even know what provoked all of what happened today."

"Honestly, I don't either. I was just told that Alexandra had no choice but to back out. The only other detail I got was that she called Jackie before she even told James. Whatever it is, James is not taking it well."

"I'm sure that me coming into the picture is not making things any easier."

"Right, I sometimes forget that you were Alexandra's first partner."

Zach was about to mention that he had also been her first in a few other things when Jackie walked back in with drinks for everyone.

"What a twenty-four hours this has been. First, I come home and try to attack my cousin with a juniors trophy. Then, just when I'm getting my head around that, all hell breaks loose on a team I thought was solid and a shoo-in for gold. We had a plan of action to smooth that when the firm goes all jack-ass on me! In a weird twist, I am thankful for you firm, Zach, and that you needed to get away from Minnesota, Hannah!"

Zach gave Hannah a questioning look over his beer. Alex has seemed surprised when Zach mentioned that he had met Hannah that morning. She was supposed to be at school for graduation ceremonies. Jackie's comment about her needing to get away made her appearance here both a blessing for the team and a mystery.

Hannah could feel Zach's interest pique when Jackie mentioned her get away. There was no way she was ever going to fess up to him that she escaped Minnesota because of some guy! It was such a stupid reason to jump on the first flight out, but it also turned out to be a wonderful twist of fate. She was glad to be able to both help her cousin out and to jump right back in to competitive skating. The fact that James was in a relationship with Alexandra made the whole pairs skating a lot easier to swallow.

Jackie, too, noticed Zach's looks at Hannah. The two had been quite something to watch during the day. While they would make quite a pair, she did not need another couple brought into the odd mix that was already surrounding the business partnership they had just formed.

The ringing of Hannah's phone brought everyone out of their thoughts and into the moment. When Hannah looked down and saw that it was Jackson, she shut the phone off and downed the remainder of her glass before saying her goodnights and escaping to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Somewhere in the five hour morning practice, Hannah and James finally started to skate like a team. They would never be what James and Alexandra had been; there was no substitute for the emotional connection those two had. Nevertheless, this new pairing still had a lot of potential to really make a showing come Nationals. Jackie called practice to a close after the pair had an impressive run. It's always easier to start the next practice on a positive note when the previous had ended that way. She reminded the two to be back in four hours for evening practice and dismissed them. As Hannah took off to meet Zach at his office and James left to go take Alexandra to her appointment, Jackie walked off to her office.

All the years spent in the rink, either practicing or coaching, it had never crossed Jackie's mind that one day it would all be hers. When she and Alex had gotten married, her parents informed them that they would soon be handing the rink over to them. A divorce and two funerals later, she was running it on her own. Alex would have been so much better at this, and knowing that is probably what made Jackie refuse to hire someone to handle to business end of the rink. It basically just served as a practice rink for her team and the local hockey group. She knew she should really get it up and running again, but she just didn't have it in her yet.

Hannah had a few minutes before she was scheduled to meet Zach, so she bypassed his suite and headed straight to see Alex. The minute he saw her coming, he was quick to end his call. He hadn't seen her since Doug's funeral, and despite their constant emails, had really missed her. And he was very curious as to why she was no longer in Minnesota with that douche bag Jackson. He had met him when they had first started dating and he was near the campus for business. Seeing him at the funerals since had not made him like the guy any better. The last time he saw the couple, it had left such a bad impression that Alex had even considered calling Jackie to voice his concern. He couldn't muster up the courage, though, when he remembered how she treated him like any other random person that had shown up at her parents' funerals.

Luckily, Alex and Hannah had stayed close after the divorce. She never mentioned it to Jackie, but she knew that it was known. It crushed her when the marriage started to fall apart. She had always thought of Jackie as a sister and Alex was like the brother she had never had. She couldn't comprehend how two people that had been so in love couldn't make it. Hannah had always hoped to grow up and find a love just like theirs. They just fit together. Thinking about it made Hannah's eyes sting a little when they hugged.

Hannah kept trying to make small take, asking about the business, discussing getting back on the ice, anything to avoid the topic she knew Alex wanted to get to. Finally, she had to take a breath and Alex was able to ask why she had left Minnesota and shown up here.

"Things with Jackson just weren't what I thought they were, and I no longer had a reason to stay. I had just seen the competition and figured it would be nice for Jackie to have someone to celebrate with."

The fact that Jackie normally had to celebrate alone or with strangers hurt Alex more than a little, which did not go unnoticed by Hannah. It was so frustrating to know that two people she cared so deeply about belonged back together and would never admit it!

"Hannah, I've known you long enough to decipher there's more to the story than that. But if that's what you're selling, I'll pretend to buy it."

"Well, it's so moot now that it's not even worth discussing. I probably need to go meet with Zach now, let's try and get together soon." She hugged Alex again and took off down the hall to see Zach.

Across town, James was dropping Alexandra back off at their condo. The hardest part about what was going on was how distant Alexandra seemed to be becoming. If anything, he should be the one acting distant. She went to Jackie before him. Anything that affected her affected him, yet he wasn't the first to know what was going on. He understood that she was upset and confused, and he needed her to talk to him about it. Once she shut down, there was no getting her to have a conversation, though. He needed her to need him, to lean on him. They went through the motions like everything was the same, but he knew it wasn't. They didn't touch and talk like they had done until a couple of days ago.

Alexandra accepted the tea that James brought her. He had been so sweet during all of this and she knew she needed to talk to him about everything. What if he didn't say the right things, though? Did she really want to push them to the end before it got here?


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

The two weeks of long grueling practice had finally paid off. James and Hannah were skating together effortlessly now. It was such a confidence boost to know things were coming together at a rapid pace. Which they desperately needed, being only a few hours from their first public appearance as a team. Hannah and Jackie rushed to get ready at the rink while James went home to freshen up and get Alexandra. Zach was sending a car to get them, but figured it best to just meet them there. The media was going to have a field day with everything going on, and he didn't want him and Alexandra arriving together to add fuel to the inevitable fire.

James was glad Alexandra was going with them today. Other than her doctor's appointments, she rarely left the house. He hoped that her being able to wear a nice dress and fix up would perk her up a little bit.

"Wow" was all he could muster up when she walked out of their bedroom. Alexandra looked amazing. She blushed at the comments and surprised her boyfriend by walking over and planting a kiss on his lips. He was even more pleased when she took his hand on the short walk to the car.

The ride to the arena was very silent. Everyone was nervous about how the media would react to the change. Luckily, Alexandra would be by James' side to remind everyone that it was not a falling out on the team, but a decision Alexandra had to make for herself. They all hoped that the media would be more interested in getting to know Hannah than the oddity in the team's partnering with a firm owned by exes of two of the members.

Luckily, Zach had arranged for the team to be brought in through the back entrance so that they could be properly seated before being attacked by reporters, photographers, and fans. He, himself, would remain out of the teams way and hidden from everyone else. He was simply in the wings in case anything went wrong.

The new team of James and Hannah led way to the table, followed by Jackie and Alexandra, who then sat on either side. Jackie welcomed and thanked everyone, and then made the official announcement that James McKinsey and Hannah Dorsey would be skating together at Nationals in eight weeks. The official approval for Hannah to replace Alexandra had come through a little over a week ago. She then opened the floor for questions, which were fired at everyone on stage.

Everyone wanted to know why Alexandra quit, to which the response was always that it was a personal decision that she had to make for herself, and no, it was not easy. And no, it did not mean that she and James were no longer a couple. And no, she had not had any interaction with Zach since her former team had signed with him. She herself had no reason to sign with him.

Jackie was glad to be coaching her cousin and confident that the team still had a shot at the gold. No, she had not spoken to her ex-husband since signing with his company. If need be, she would work with him. She would always put her team's needs ahead of her own.

Yes, James would miss skating with his girlfriend, but was looking forward to taking the ice with Hannah soon. No, he did not show up with Alexandra as a publicity stunt. He still loved her as much today as he did when they were still a team. The look he gave her when stating that left no doubt that it was true.

Hannah reassured everyone that she was in as good of form, if not better, than she was when she made it to Nationals before. Yes, she regretted hanging up her skates years ago, but she, like Alexandra, felt it was something she needed to do and that's why she was glad to be able to help Alexandra out.

So far, they had been prepared for everything asked. And then, a local social report stood.

"Hannah, you were recently spotted at The Wine Bar with Alex Harrison. Is it true that the fact you are now dating is what led to the partnership of his company and your team the day you took over for Alexandra?"

The team all just stared at each other, unsure of what to say. Finally, Hannah pulled the mike over to her.

"Yes, it is true that I was having a drink with Alex. His firm is now representing my team, and due to his past relationship with my coach, I handle all dealings with him. He is also a very good friend of mine, and I believe that's grounds to meet for an innocent drink as well. Alex is a great guy, but he's certainly not my guy. As for the fact that our partnership with his firm came on the heels on my joining the team, well, sometimes what was a good fit for one team is not always a good fit for another. We needed someone more in tune with our unique situation."

By the time Hannah had finished her statement, Zach was at the edge of the stage.

"Thank you everybody for coming. At this time the floor is now closed. If we want these guys to bring home the gold, they need to get back to work. Any further questions may be directed to my firm."

The team took a few more minutes to smile at the cameras as everyone was ushered out. Soon, it was just the five of them. Alexandra and James got up immediately, stating that Alexandra needed to go find a water fountain.

"Well, that last question was certainly a shock to everyone." Jackie said.

"I am so sorry," whispered Hannah, "I never thought about how it would look when I met Alex the other night. Jackie, I would never…"

"I know, trust me. You and Alex were always close. He was a big brother to you and I understand that y'all will remain friends. Unfortunately, people looking for a scoop don't."

"It's clear that people want more of a story than what we've given them. They will be hounding you guys. The closer it gets to competition time, the more they're going to dig. We just need to be careful not to give them anything to twist, and I'm probably going to have to stay close to you guys." Zach informed them. He set up a time to meet Hannah the next day and headed back to the office before he had to deal with seeing Alexandra and James again.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

The next few weeks were pretty uneventful for the team, which was a huge relief. With Nationals getting closer, Zach was busy with a lot of other clients, and, thanks to Hannah's Masters in Sports Administration, he was able to trust her to handle a lot for her team. Her ability to step in for Alexandra and still make it possible for the team to make a showing at Nationals, along with the poise and grace she handled everything that came with the team amazed him. He was fairly certain that the group never would have gotten through this without her. Not only had she saved the team, but also the partnership. James probably didn't want to deal with Zach, and there was no way Alex and Jackie were going to work together.

James, Jackie, and Hannah spent every moment they had practicing, reworking, and discussing. Every time they got a routine down, one of the three decided it wasn't good enough. When they weren't on the rink, they were sitting around thinking of something harder or more impressive to do. Hannah's philosophy was that if she nailed something the first time she tried it, it wasn't hard enough. James thought if it had been done before, it was boring. Jackie, well, she just wanted them to settle on a routine at this point.

While everyone else prepared for Nationals, Alexandra was secretly making plans to go to her mother's until after Nationals. She didn't feel like going to Nationals with everyone staring and whispering about why she wasn't on the ice. She was tired of people speculating about why she had left the team, and she really needed to explain it to her family before the rest of the country found out. It was going to break her mother's heart enough already.

James hung up the phone and walked to the condo. So far, the day had been great. They had finally settled on a routine and he was excited to show the world what they could do. As he unlocked the door, though, he knew it was all about to go to hell.

Thanks to his phone call, he was not at all surprised to see Alexandra sitting on the couch with her suitcase by her feet, Even the heads up did not keep him from going ballistic, though.

"What the hell Alex? I understand you not skating with me, but not even coming to support me?"

"I just can't handle it right now James, I though you would understand."

"Can't handle what? Watching me skate with another girl because you left me? Or having to travel with Zach because you're not over him?" James immediately regretted that as soon as it came out of his mouth.

"Seriously, you think that? Because if you do, this relationship is not what I thought it was at all."

"No, I do not think that. I don't even know why I said it. I just don't understand why you are taking off like this. And once again, doing something without even talking to me about it. First you talk to Jackie about not skating first, and now you call your brother telling him you need to come home while I'm at Nationals. We used to talk about everything, and now you're just doing whatever you want, not worrying if and how it will affect me."

"I've got to go back to doing things on my own. Somebody's got to take care of me while you're off winning your medals."

"Oh no, you are not going to make me that guy. My continuing to skate was actually a decision you MADE for me. Just because things did not work out when you and your last partner split does not mean the same has to be true for us. I will not have you making me into Zach. Whatever happened with you two, it's not us."

"I don't know what I think right now. After Nationals, we'll figure out what to do about us and everything else involved.

There was a honk signaling her taxi had arrived, Alexandra grabbed her bags, kissed him on the cheek, and headed to the door, walking fast and never looking back. She couldn't afford for him to see her cry. He didn't have as much pride, his tears had started falling the minute she grabbed her suitcase.

There was no way he could stay in this condo and think about anything but Alexandra. Nationals were too close for that distraction. Without even calling to ask if it was okay, James packed up his bags and headed to Jackie's. At least there he would have some distraction from the ruins his life was becoming.

"Wow, you got here quick." Hannah couldn't imagine how fast James must have been driving. Jackie had just walked off to call him minutes ago.

"What are you talking about?"

"Didn't Jackie just call you, like ten minutes ago?"

"I don't know. My phone's off."

"Oh, well, then what are you doing here?"

"Really don't want to talk about it. What does Jackie need?"

"I'll go get her, she can explain it." As Hannah turned to go find her cousin, she noticed James' suitcase. Just what they needed, even more drama!

"James, glad you're here. Where's Alex? Need to talk to her, too."

"Well, that's going to be kind of tough. She's on a flight to her mom's right now."

"Oh, James, I'm so sorry." Jackie put her hand on his shoulder as she spoke. It hurt to see James so upset, and that made her next statement even harder to say. "Without her here, there's a good chance we're sponsorless. And with no sponsors, we have no backing to send us to Nationals. "

"But, the sponsors were behind us after we announced the change in partners. Why are they changing their minds now?"

Jackie walked to the living room and the other two followed in silence. She motioned for them to sit down as she went to grab a folder off her desk.

"Tomorrow morning, our team is going to be the most talked about group heading into Nationals. And not for our talent." She spread the contents of the folder on the table.

The title of the article was "When The Ice Thaws".

_It all started when Jackie Dorsey followed in her parents' footsteps and began making a name for herself in the figure skating world. When an injury forced her to give up her dreams of winning gold as an individual, she continues to follow her parents' lead and went into pairs skating. Her parents were able to carry their brilliant partnership into something off the ice, so, of course, the younger Dorsey thought she could do the same. And for years, Jackie and Alex Harrison stole our hearts as a magnificent pairing both on and off the ice. Then, another injury forced the couple to walk away from the sport, and, shortly after, each other._

_Both were assumed to have disappeared from the public eye forever after the divorce was final. Then, Jackie Dorsey suddenly reappeared on the seen as a coach. Her new team consisted of Alexandra Delgado and Zach Conroy. Zach was no stranger to the ice, as he had once been a half of "Conroy & Mercier: America's Sweethearts". When they fell apart, Zach convinced Alexandra to trade in her hockey skates for figure skates and the two skated their way to gold under the direction of Dorsey. Having not learned from their coach or Zach's previous relationship, the two became a pair of the ice as well. That, too, ended with everyone hanging up their skates._

_Fast forward a couple of years later. Alexandra is once again pulled into the world of competitive skating; this time partnered with ex-speed skater James McKinsey. When they, too, decided to take their partnership off the ice, their original coach told them he wanted no part of it. Alexandra went to the one person she knew was up to tackling a team romantically involved, and Jackie Dorsey was once again involved in competitive skating. And, up until a few months ago, the team was unstoppable._

_Then, without warning, Alexandra was replaced by Hannah Dorsey, Jackie's cousin best known for hanging up her skates only months before she was to take the ice at Nationals. The same day, the team goes with a new PR firm, ConSon, owned by none other than Alex Harrison and Zach Conroy, two former skaters that individuals in this story are very familiar with._

_Reason for Alexandra's "retirement" and the change in PR firms has yet to be given. Only that both decisions were made with the best interest of everyone involved. Considering the past of everyone involved, there are numerous questions continuing to surround this team and its stability. Why did Hannah suddenly reappear just as Alexandra went off the radar? Will old flames reignite? Will Hannah and James take a cue for everyone else and try and take their romance out of the rink? And, if so, how long will this partnership last?_

James threw the article down in disgust. "Well, now what?"

"We have to do something that shows our team is not becoming a soap opera. The fact that Alex isn't here to show you two are still together is not going to help. And the three of us all staying under the same roof right now if definitely out of the question, despite how much it would help the team right now. I called Zach and he and Alex are on the way right now."

Hannah looked up at Jackie with shock. "Alex?"

"Well, I've always said I would do whatever it takes to take my team to the top." Just thinking about being in the same room as Alex made Jackie nauseous. She went off to get everyone drinks.

Just as she was finishing putting everything on the tray, the doorbell rang. Not thinking, Jackie went to answer and came face to face with Alex. They just starred at each other, neither knowing what to say. It had been two years since they had been face to face. Luckily, Zach walked up to ease the tension.

"All right, let's get to brainstorming." Zach said, helping himself to a beer as he walked by. Alex and Jackie gave each other one last look and followed.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

"Hannah, James, have you two been seen anywhere together or done anything that may lead anyone to believe you are a couple?" asked Zach.

"Not at all; I've only seen James at practice and at PR events. We've never even been alone together. Jackie is always with us, and some of the times, Alexandra was even there."

"Well, at least they have nothing to back up that claim. As far as the others, well there's not much we can do. It would certainly help our case if Alexandra was going to Nationals with us. It would also help if she could give a statement as to why she quit." Zach looked directly at James as he spoke, as if anyone had control over Alexandra.

"Well, you can talk to her about that." James told Zach in a less than pleasant tone. "I have a feeling whatever happened with you guys may have something to do with her departure. Or, maybe the article had it right. Maybe none of us were meant to last off the ice." James slammed down his beer bottle and went out to the porch.

Being the only one he didn't directly offend with his comment, Hannah went out to check on him.

"She got mad at me for mentioning that she might not be over Zach, and I felt bad. But looking back, it makes sense. She never wanted to talk about their break up, even before we were a couple. And you wouldn't get mad about something unless it's true, right?" James started talking the minute he saw it was just Hannah. "We almost split before we even got really started because I overreacted to another guy. I've done nothing of the sort since then, so the way I'm feeling right now has to stem from something."

"I think everyone just has a full range of emotion right now with everything that's going on. This will be the first time you have ever skated without Alexandra and I am sure that whatever it is that made her quit is bothering you as well. Throw in a guy she has more than just a little history with, and yeah, it's going to bother you. It would be odd for you not to have crazy thoughts and feelings right now."

"I think what bothers me the most is that she never wants to talk about what happened. I would feel a little better if I knew there was more to it than them just not skating together. If she was completely over him and what they had had, she would be okay to talk about it."

"Not necessarily. I had what I thought was a pretty serious relationship in Minnesota that suddenly just ended and I'm okay with the fact it's over. Doesn't mean I want to talk about it, though. Sometimes, things in the past are better just left there."

"_And sometimes they're not"_ she thought, as she looked in the window at Alex and Jackie.

"Would you talk about it if you thought it would save a current relationship?"

"I think I would. I can't honestly say because I haven't come to that, yet. If it bothers you that much, maybe you should talk to Zach. He's actually a good guy and I'm sure would talk, especially if it could save this team."

"Yeah, that thought had crossed my mind, but I didn't know when or how to approach it. Guess now's as good of time as any. Thanks Hannah."

He hugged his teammate and went inside to have the dreaded conversation.

While Hannah and James were outside, the other 3 were having their own conversation.

"Until they get some answers, people are just going to keep the speculation up. First they had Hannah paired with me, and now James. Eventually, it's going to have to come out why Alexandra left and why you guys are now with our firm." Alex looked straight into Jackie's eyes as he spoke, finding it hard to concentrate on the topic at hand.

"Alexandra's reasoning is hers to tell, if and when she's ready. I'm now ready to address anything else, though" said Jackie, looking right back at Alex. And she meant it, she finally wanted to talk about what had happened between the two of them. It had only taken her six years!

Alex and Jackie were looking right at each other, almost having their own conversation with their eyes. And Zach wanted nothing more than to give them privacy.

Luckily, James walked in and motioned for Zach to follow him to the kitchen.

James handed Zach one of the beers he had just grabbed out of the fridge and sat on the counter, not knowing how to start.

Zach eyed James over the beer, wondering what he could possibly have to say to him. The two had made a point to avoid speaking the few times they had been in the same room. Not that Zach had any problems with the guy. He seemed to really love Alexandra and Zach was actually happy for them. The way James jaw always tensed around Zach made him nervous enough to stay away, though. He wasn't sure how much he trusted that James' once famous temper had cooled down since hooking up with Alexandra.

"I'm assuming you didn't bring me in here to simply have a beer?"

"You really are a smart one." James took a gulp of his beer. "Sorry, man, this just isn't easy for me. I'm going through hell right now and never in a million years would I have thought I'd come to you to help me get out of it."

"Look, for what it's worth man, I've got nothing but the upmost respect for you and Alexandra. We just weren't meant to be and I'm glad she found you. I still care about and would do anything for her, though."

"Thanks Zach. I'm just gonna come straight out. I need you to tell me what happened with you guys."

"Are you serious?"

"I know it seems stupid, but it's the one thing Alexandra would never talk about and with all that's going on right now, I just need to know."

"All I can tell you is my perception of what happened. I don't know if it will help you any…"

"Your story's better than no story."

Zach grabbed them a couple of more beers, then told his side of the break-up.

"Everything was great while we were still skating together. It at least seemed that way at the time. I was ready to retire before I ever mentioned it to her, though. I knew she wasn't ready to give it up, and I knew she wouldn't go out and try to get a new partner, so I stayed six months, all the while hating it and probably becoming bitter towards her, even though she had no idea I didn't want to be competing anymore. I felt that she was tying me to a life I didn't want anymore and started getting mad at her about everything. I quit doing all the little things I used to do, figuring my skating was enough now. I finally couldn't take it anymore, told her I still loved her, and walked out of the rink. She came home a couple of days later and told me she understood and apologized for making me feel like I had to do something I didn't enjoy for her for so long. That, of course, made me feel even worse about the situation. So, for the next few weeks, she walked around depressed thinking that skating was over for her, but she wouldn't talk about it because she didn't want me to feel bad about it. At the same, time, I was already feeling bad about it, while trying to figure out what to do with my life. Eventually, we were almost avoiding each other in order to save the other from unnecessary guilt. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. We were sharing a home and nothing more. It wasn't fair to either of us. We talked it out and both agreed it wasn't working. We needed to be apart, at least for a while. We needed to think and let our emotions out without worrying about putting a guilt trip on the other. The day she packed up and moved to her apartment, we said goodbye and promised to get in touch when things were settled and we were where we wanted to be. That never happened, though. I think she wasn't where she wanted to be until she started skating with you again, and by that time, there was just no point, I guess."

Zach noticed that both had finished their beer during the story and got up to go to the fridge. He was sure they both needed it.

"My best advice to you man," said Zach as he handed James a beer, "is to not let the same thing happen to you. I'm not going to knock what she and I had, but you two, well, it's something more. I'd hate to see you guys end up like we did."

James nodded his head, still thinking over what Zach had told him. He understood exactly what he meant by the avoidance to avoid guilt. Alexandra felt bad about not being able to skate with James and James felt bad about skating while he should be with her during everything. They both knew that one of them needed to make a living, though. There was so much James wanted to say to and ask her, but he was trying to avoid anything that would mess up the balance. It was too late for that, though.

Just as Zach and James headed to the kitchen for their conversation, Hannah walked in before Jackie and Alex could start theirs. The minute she realized what she had just walked into, Hannah wished she had stayed outside for a few more minutes. Instead of having a much needed conversation, the two used Hannah's entrance as a reason to excuse themselves.

"I've got get some work done. Jackie, can I set up in one the guest rooms?"

"Sure, I'll go order us all something to eat."

As Hannah watched the two escape each other, her phone vibrated. She looked at the screen and shut it off. So what if she was the only one in the house not willing to talk things out and get answers?


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

Hannah was glad to see Zach sitting on the porch alone when she came in from her evening jog. Seeing Jackie and Alex together earlier had reminded her about the first time she met Zach. He had agreed with her when she had made the smart ass comment about Jackie and Alex. She had wanted to pick his brain about the situation ever since, but the "quest for gold" kinda got in the way!

Zach was glad to see Hannah coming to join him on the porch. With all the craziness surrounding the group right now, he had a feeling she was going to be his rock until Nationals had come and gone. Tonight was the first night he'd actually taken time to look at her. The fact that her chestnut waves were pulled back in pigtails did not take away from how gorgeous she was. He must have been really stressed about handling the team professionally for her toned body and sparkling green eyes to go unnoticed.

Hannah could feel Zach looking at her and suddenly regretted not taking her hair down and touching up her make-up before coming out. It would be totally inappropriate for anything to go on with the two of them, but a girl still liked to be admired. She self consciously took a sip of one as she sat across from him.

"It's been quit a day, huh?" She asked him, hoping the conversation would distract him from continuing to stare at what a mess she was!

"Oh yeah. It's going to be an interesting couple of weeks."

"Well, maybe some good can come of all this. Ya never know."

Zach almost choked on his beer. Was she actually flirting with him? She was usually over-professional. So much that he first thought her to be uptight.

"What are your thoughts on the Alex and Jackie situation?"

He couldn't believe the quick disappointment that hit him when Hannah asked him that. They would be stupid to even think about getting involved with all that was going on right now.

"I know that it still bothers him to hear about her or see her on TV. He gets uptight every time her name is mentioned. And six years without seriously seeing someone? That seems a little odd to me."

"Yeah, Jackie's the same way. She gets this far away, almost sad look sometimes when something reminds her of him. It used to upset me, but now it just pisses me off."

"I can tell. So, what should we do? It's clear our friends may need some very hard pushing. It seemed like they were actually going to talk about it today, and then nothing."

"Well, that may be my fault. I walked in and gave them an excuse to scatter. I say if they nothing's happened by Nationals, we lock them in a closet."

"And until then let's try and think of something better." Zach said as he raised his drink to hers, and was mesmerized once again when she smiled.

The vibrating of her cell broke the silent staring between the two. Hannah was prepared to cut it off again, but was shocked to see that it was Mary-Ann, her former roommate. She excused herself and walked to the other end of the porch to take the call.

When she walked back over, Zach could tell the phone call was not good news. She looked somewhere between livid and upset. Instead of pushing, Zach refilled her wine and leaned back, waiting to see if she wanted to talk about it or not.

"All this time, I thought he was calling to apologize. Guess he just wanted to be the first to tell me he was marrying to slut."

Over the remainder of the Merlot bottle, Hannah told Zach the reason she had fled Minnesota and shown up at her cousin's house. She then told him how Jackson was marrying the "other bitch" and they were expecting their first child in about seven months. Not once did she cry, though. In fact, she didn't seem upset until she realized they were out of wine. She stood to get another one.

"I've got a better idea," Zach said, grabbing her arm to stop her. "Go get all gussied up and meet me back here in thirty minutes."

Against her better judgment, Hannah agreed.

While he waited, Zach made calls and nursed another beer. A few sponsors showed promise of sticking with the Dorsey-McKinsey team. He had just finished leaving a message for his final, and most important, call when Hannah walked out. Zach tried hard to concentrate on finishing his beer to keep from dating. Whoever invented the sundress was a god!

"Wow, you look great." He said as he rose. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and led her outside to where a car was waiting.

Hannah could not believe all the trouble Zach had gone to just to put her in a better mood! The car at taken them to dinner at a small restaurant where they were sure to go unnoticed and had then dropped them off at a bar on the water. It was so nice to just be out having fun with a guy that she could just have a conversation with. It had been a while since she had been this relaxed around male company. The two spent hours sitting on the bar deck just drinking and laughing. They finally realized how drunk they probably were and had the car come get them.

They laughed and sang along to the radio the entire way home. The driver was probably relieved to drop them off at the house and head home for the night. Instead of going to bed, the two decided to grab more drinks and head to the hot tub.

"Ya know," slurred Hannah as she was opening yet another bottle of wine, "I totally get now why James was so worried Alexandra was still in love with you?"

"Really? Well, you know what I don't get? How Jackson couldn't appreciate that he the most amazing girl in the world." Without thinking, Zach leaned over and kissed Hannah. Realizing what he was doing, he started to pull away, but when she started to respond, there was no hope.

After about ten minutes, Zach finally managed to pull away.

"What if someone sees us? As much fun as I'm having we really can't afford for the press to get wind of this." As he spoke, Zach looked around to see if anyone was on the street or out in the yard.

Hannah's face fell. "Crap, you're right."

Without saying another word, Zach picked up the bottle of wine and took Hanna's hound. He led her out of the hot tub and straight up to the guest room he was currently staying in.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

Zach was surprised out how much he and Hannah did not freak out when they awoke the next morning. They simply looked at each other and started laughing.

"Well, that was an interesting night," said Zach, as he sat up to pull on a shirt.

"See, I told you this would all work out for everyone. Well, most everyone. ", replied Hannah, thinking of how everyone James was the only one in the house sleeping alone last night.

"Those two most have had some talk while we were out."

"Speaking of talk, that's probably something we need to do soon. Unfortunately, I am already running late to the rink." said Hannah, walking into the bathroom to get presentable.

"And I need to get to the office. Give you a ride to the rink and pick you up for lunch?"

"Works for me."

They spent the entire ride singing to the radio and discussing everything but what was going on between them.

Alex and Jackie had, in fact, had quite a long and emotional conversation. Watching what was going on with Alexandra and James had made Jackie realize how shut down she had become when her career had ended. She was too selfish to consider that Alex, too, had lost his career. He blamed himself too much for the fall to get on the ice with anyone else. Plus, he had only started skating to win Jackie's attention, anyway. It just wouldn't have been the same without her. It was a time they should have leaned on each other, and instead, they pulled apart.

It took them an hour for every year they had been apart to talk about everything that they should have done differently. In the end, they decided it didn't matter who was right and wrong and what they could have said or done. What mattered is that they had finally come to grips with it, and while it was going to take a lot of time and work, they belonged together.

Jackie had forgotten just how much she enjoyed waking up next to Alex. It was one of those things she would not take for granted the second time around. When he rolled over and wrapped his arms around her, she cursed herself for scheduling a morning practice. After a few moments of bliss, she slipped out of bed to get ready, trying not to wake him. Apparently she wasn't very good at it, though. When she walked back in from brushing her teeth, he was already up and had managed to throw one a polo and jeans.

Watching Jackie walk back in the room, Alex couldn't help but smile to himself. How long he had dreamed of being with her again. As soon as Nationals was over, he was taking her away for a week. They needed time to focus on each other and forget all about skating and everything else in their crazy lives.

"How about you give me a ride into the office and we rendezvous during your break?" he asked, with a guilty grin on his face.

"Perfect," she replied, leaning up to kiss the love of her life.

James had no idea what was keeping his coach and teammate, but he was glad to have the rink to himself for a bit. It gave him time to simply fly around the ice and think about everything that was going on.

Before Alexandra's big announcement, James had purchased a diamond, hoping to propose when they won Nationals. Now, she would take the proposal as something he felt he had to do, not something he wanted to do. He had known since before the first time they competed together that she was the one for him. Things had been so great with them that he didn't want to throw them off balance with a proposal, though. Something in him felt that this year's competition would be the perfect time to ask her, though. He knew there would be no way of convincing her of that now.

He just needed to see her right now, needed to see she was okay. They needed to talk about everything that was going on and for once, make a plan. He knew calling her would just push her away, but calling her brother seemed fair enough. After all, that was who had given him the heads up she was leaving last night. At least he had someone in his corner during all this.

James had just finished leaving a message for Bobby when Hannah rushed in, followed by a tired, but giddy Jackie. Without discussing the new living situation or any other drama surrounding the team, the three took to the ice and began working on the finalized routine. Despite the fact that none of them had gotten a lot of sleep the previous night, the skating was amazing. Hannah's cheerleading background had really helped them step the game up a notch. The combination of Hannah's flexibility and tight moves made her new and refreshing to watch on the ice. Technically, the two weren't on the same level as James and Alexandra had been, but they were definitely exciting to watch!

"That was awesome guys," said Jackie, as she skated over to the pair with water. "So awesome, in fact, that we're going to end on that for the day. Instead of practice tonight, we're going out, as a team. I'll have a car come pick us up at the house at six." She handed them water and skated off before anyone could protest.

"So, were we really that great today or would you just rather spend time with Alex than coach us?" joked Hannah as she caught up with Jackie in the locker room.

"What? How you? No…"

Hannah knew the moment she opened her mouth she had made a mistake! She was hoping that Jackie wouldn't put two and two together and figure out where Hannah had slept last night. She should have known better.

"Wow, and I'd even made a point for us to go to his room last night so that you wouldn't know. Didn't want to get your hopes up in case things didn't go well."

"Obviously they did, so yayeeee!" exclaimed Hannah, jumping up to hug her cousin.

"Well, nothing's certain yet, but it is something we both want to work really hard to make happen. In fact, I've got to go meet him right now. Don't think this means I don't still want to talk to you!" shouted Jackie to her cousin as she grabbed her purse and ran out the door.

Hannah was glad she hadn't had to talk about her and Zach just yet. She had no idea how to explain or describe. Guess while Jackie and Alex were figuring their relationship out, she and Zach would be figuring out if they even had one.

Alexandra, too, was discussing the fate of her relationship. She just wasn't including the other party.

"You're taking the news much better than I though, Mom."

"You are a strong individual who never gives up. I have faith you can get through this better than most. You're going to have to rely on James and trust he will be there for you, though."

"It's not that I doubt he will be there, I just doubt his reasons. Will he be there because he wants to be or because he feels he has to?"

"He does love you enough to stand by you, even if it's not what he wants. Only you can tell his true reasons. Have faith in him, sweetie. He's surprised you before; he just may do it again." Marcella held her daughter close; praying she would gives James the chance to prove just how much he loved her.

"Can you find me a flight to Bloomington Mama?"

Back in Connecticut, the team had finished packing for the next day's flight to Nationals and was out on the town to celebrate and show everyone who believed that morning's article how wrong everything in print was. They all laughed at how they had not planned to prove the article wrong in so many ways, but it was working out. As shocked as people were to see Zach and Hannah arrive arm and arm, they were even more amazed to see Jackie and Alex getting cozy. James tried to not let it bother him that he was the odd man out. He, along with the rest of the team, spent the night reassuring everyone that things with Alexandra were fine and she had gone to stay with her family so everyone else could concentrate on the upcoming competition.

The more James tried to make himself believe that, the more he drank. Dinner wasn't as bad as when they all went dancing. As he watched the couples dance on the floor, he started ordering shots. Eventually he realized how ridiculous he was acting and decided to have fun instead of feeling sorry for himself. He took one last shot and took to the dance floor.

And that's when the cameras started flashing.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

Hannah and Zach were so relieved to be able to dance without photographers and fans around them that they didn't even stop to question why they were suddenly being left alone. They were completely lost in their own world until Jackie and Alex appeared to tell them it was time to go if they were going to be awake for their flight tomorrow. They turned to get James and finally noticed what had taken everyone's interest.

"What the hell?"… "When did this start" … "Did anyone see this before now?"

The four were standing there shouting questions, none of them sure what to do next.

"We better all go over there and dance him out the door!" shouted Jackie, taking off to get her skater. The other three followed, still unsure exactly what the plan was.

Zach grabbed a beer off a random tray and walked up to James with it. "Hey man, let's go shoot some pool ", he said, handing James the newly acquired beverage. The others all grabbed a drink and headed toward the pool tables as well.

Alex or Zach must have grabbed a manager immediately, because the minute they walked into the table room, it was blocked off so that they could have some privacy.

"What the hell, man? People are already questioning you and Alexandra and you dancing with everyone in the bar is not helping matters!" Zach shouted, getting in James' face.

"Well, it's not like I could hang out with anyone I came with. If I'd known team night was going to turn into date night, I would have just stayed home and saved us all the trouble!"

"This is going to be all over the place tomorrow. James, you're going to have to call Alexandra and get her to come to Nationals if there's any hope of this team not becoming a media nightmare", said Alex.

Before James could agree or disagree, they were interrupted by a ringing. Hannah looked in her purse and saw it was Zach's Blackberry.

"Zach can tell her himself", she said, throwing his phone at him and marching out the back door.

"Seriously, man? And I was just starting to trust your sorry ass!" James shouted, taking off behind Hannah.

"Talk to her, then fix the rest of this," said Alex. He put his arm around Jackie and they headed out the back door to the car, too.

Zach sat down to answer the phone, knowing his team would be gone and a different car waiting when he went outside.

"About time you called back. Please tell me you booked a flight to Minnesota for tomorrow?"

"Yes, I should get to the hotel about the time you guys do."

"Well, at least there's some good news. I'll call you when we get to the hotel so I can brief you on everything that's been going on. There's going to be a lot of damage control to do tomorrow."

"You have no idea. I'll see you tomorrow." As Alexandra hung up with Zach, she thought about the damage control she had to do on a personal level, and cried herself to sleep.

Zach, too, was thinking about his personal damage control. He knew he had to smooth things over with James. It felt weird trying to save his exes relationship, but it was something he knew he should do. And Hannah? Well, he didn't even know if there was a relationship to save. Or if what they had was worth saving. Maybe he just needed to stay away from dating skaters. It clearly wasn't an easy thing to do. It would be a lot easier to walk away from her if she wasn't so infectious. A gorgeous girl with brains and a heart? Yeah, good luck finding another one of those!

When the other four got back to the house, Hannah and James both marched inside and straight up to their rooms, making it clear neither had a desire to talk to anyone. Jackie really wanted to talk to her cousin, but knew it was better to leave her alone.

"We were crazy to think we'd get out of town without another incident happening," she said to Alex as she walked in the room.

"Didn't see anything like this happening, though."

"I don't even know exactly what's going on. I mean, I know that James was dancing and that's going turn into something it wasn't. I'm used to the media making something out of nothing, but the way James and Hannah acted about a phone call? That's so out of character of Hannah, and even James."

"Under normal circumstance, yeah. But you put everything together, and I'm not surprised by the way either of them reacted. Hannah's last relationship ended up with her here and her ex engaged to the girl he was cheating on her with. James, he's got all kinds of reasons going on. He's skating without his girlfriend for the first time ever, which is weird enough for him. Add the fact that he's working with a guy Alexandra was with until he left her like she's left James. So yeah, he's a big ball of mess right now. Do you not remember how we were at that age? And we didn't even have half this going on?"

"Yeah, you just had skanky fiancé."

"And you were an uptight prude."

"Well, if we're keeping up the terrible traditions of love and drama on the ice, everyone will make up just fine before we hit the ice. At least that's what I'm crossing my fingers on. Oh, and counting on our PR firm to make happen."

"Pretty sure our fees for your team just went up," he joked, pulling Jackie into bed with him.

Zach was not surprised that no one was up waiting for him when he got to the house. He'd really hoped to be able to talk to Alex, but knew he would be with Jackie or Hannah. On the way back, Zach had tried to call Hannah, but she was ignoring all his calls and texts. He knew better than to try and talk to James; that was going to be Alexandra's first job tomorrow. Hopefully Alexandra would still want to talk to James after the pictures taken only a few hours ago were posted on the internet and who knows where else. He hadn't told her about them at the bar in case anyone was close enough to hear him, and when he'd tried to call her from the car to tell her, her phone had already been cut off for the evening. And the chances of her actually checking her voicemail were slim to none.

Zach had been through two serious relationships in the public eye, and quite a few flings. He knew that having the media involved made things so much harder. They wanted to turn nothing into a big something. And with Alexandra and James, they had more than nothing to work with.

He had never once doubted that Alexandra loved him, but seeing her with James he understood that while she loved him, she was not madly in love with him. The way she looked at James, well, you just knew she had never and would never look at anyone the same again. It was the same way Alex and Jackie looked at each other, even after their divorce. Zach had always hoped to find someone to look at like that, and vice-versa. The fact that the other two couples involved in this bizarre partnership had so much trying to keep them apart made him realize that it was very likely Hannah would never be that girl for him. And that's the thought that cost him a peaceful night's sleep. He was still thinking about it when his alarm went off.

He really wanted to hit snooze, but knew they all had a plane to catch. After convincing himself to roll out of bed, he double checked that everything was packed and headed downstairs. Seeing the team was not something he wanted to start his morning off with, but it had to be done. Everyone looked up when he walked in the kitchen, but no one said a word. Zach grabbed a juice and breakfast bar and headed to eat on the porch, away from the awkward silence he was sure he had caused. He was surprised when Hannah followed him.

"Look, Zach, I'm sorry. I overreacted last night. I have no right to question what you do or get mad because another girl is calling you. And you have every right to call Alexandra; she's part of the team you represent."

"You really don't need to apologize, Hannah, it was a natural reaction."

"Not for me, it's not. I guess with everything that happened with Jackson, I went overboard with my thoughts."

"That's totally understandable. Between your recent break-up and all that's going on with the team, maybe we were just fooling ourselves with thinking we could try and start a relationship right now."

Hannah tried not to let the hurt show as she swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "I could agree more; there's just too much going on for us to try and make it work right now."

"I'm glad you agree; I still want to hang out and be friend, though."

"Oh, totally. Well, glad we got that out of the way; I better go make sure my stuff's all packed," she said, trying to escape the patio as quick as possible.

Watching her walk away, Zach was more than a little disappointed that she had been so quick to agree that they call things off before even starting.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

James and Zach had still not spoken by the time group got to the plane. Once they boarded, James took his seat and popped in his head phones, hoping his iPod would give everyone the clue he didn't feel like talking. When Hannah noticed Zach was taking the seat next to hers, she did the same.

Zach glanced over at Hannah as he took his seat. He could have sworn she'd been avoiding him since that morning on the patio, and totally didn't get it. If him calling things off had bothered her, why had she been so quick to agree? The more he looked back on it, the more he had wanted her to disagree and tell him that they could make it work. But she hadn't and it was time to focus on the next few days of competition, and the mess that would be following his newest clients there.

While everyone else was trying to keep to themselves, Jackie and Alex were planning their "make-up" trip. If things went well in St. Thomas, Jackie was going to try and convince Hannah to stay and take over Alex's condo. Then she would have her favorite guy living with her, and her favorite girl in town!

After a very silent flight to Minnesota, the team deboarded the plane, still not speaking. They all walked by reporters and fans trying to get their attention, waving and heading straight to the car. Once they all piled in, Alex.

"Alexandra should be waiting on us when we get to the hotel. Before anyone goes to their room to unwind, we need to all get together and get some things straight. I'm not going to be staying in the room booked under my name, so we will use that as our "green room". Drop off your bags and head straight there. Despite anything personal you've got going on with anyone else in this car, we've got to put up a united front. Eating together, going out together, everything. Got it?"

The whole team nodded in agreement, Hannah and James both looking out the window. At least the two taking the ice still got along, which was unusual for this group. At the end of the day, what they did on the ice mattered the most. They could put on a happy front and pretend to all be the best of friends, but if the team didn't make a positive showing in the rink, it was all a waste.

Alexandra had been so tired and rushed that morning when she headed to catch her plane that she hadn't really paid attention to anything. Once she landed, articles in various papers and magazines began to catch her eye. She didn't need to read them to know they were bad news. Every single one of them was accompanied with a picture of her boyfriend dancing with every hussy in Connecticut. All this time she'd felt bad, thinking he was sitting at home catching up on TiVo and pondering their relationship. And her mother wondered why she had questioned his loyalty and dedication!

She was still fuming by the time the team arrived and was less than thrilled when James was the first one to show up for the meeting.

"Thanks for letting me know you were going to be here," said James, finally breaking the icy silence.

"I'm sure you would have been too busy to care even if I'd tried," she snarled back, throwing one of the many papers with his previous nights actions on the front.

"Seriously, you're going to get mad over this? After shutting me out for the last three months and then up and leaving me with no notice? And then you're gonna come back in here, with no explanation, and start throwing pictures at me?"

"It's not like you were pushing me to talk, or following me out the door. Maybe you wanted me to leave so you could get back to the old you, the James that got all the ladies and just had a good time, with no worries or responsibility."

"Do you remember our first fight? When I stood you up for dinner, all because I misunderstood something I saw with you? And it just kept escalating? We almost missed out on something great because of that. Don't let the same thing happen again. I was out with the team last night and after watching the rest of the group couple off, I started feeling sorry for myself and drank too much. All I did was dance like an idiot, nothing else happened, I swear. The whole time I thought about how I would have rather been with you then in any bar in the world. Even if it meant sitting at home, waiting on you to finally talk to me."

"I wanted to talk to you; I just didn't know what to say. I didn't want you to feel trapped by the situation; that's why I had to leave. I wanted you to take some time to think about it without worrying about me or my feelings."

"You didn't have to leave me for that; I've always known that I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Do you mean that or are you just saying it because of everything that's going on?"

"See, that's why I didn't ask you earlier, I knew you would think that! But I had been planning on asking you to marry me after we won Nationals for months. You can call the jewelry store and check," he said, putting his hand into his coat pocket. "I bought this for you before any of this happened." As he pulled the ring out of his pocket, James got down on one knee and looked up at Alexandra, his heart racing faster than he had ever skated.

She didn't respond, but simply fell into his arms, crying and nodding her head yes. And that was what the rest of the team walked in to find.

"Well," interrupted Alex, "it looks like we can scratch the first item off the agenda. Glad to see you crazy kids are getting along. Now, since you appear to be all in love again, James, can you work with Zach now without trying to take his head off?"

Alexandra looked at the two as they nodded in agreement, confused as to what had happened between them. Then, she remembered that they had been together when she had called Zach the previous night. Surely James would now understand that it was strictly business.

"Good. Now that we can honestly show and announce that people are back together," Alex said, putting his arm around Jackie, "hopefully the media will back off. If not, Alexandra, are you ready to come forth with why you left?"

"Yes, if it comes to that, I will make my statement."

"Then that's it. Have fun tonight, and let's give everyone something besides our personal lives to talk about tomorrow!" Jackie said, leaving to go grab a private dinner with Alex.

"I guess we should go make some calls before the engagement gets some press," said James, putting his arm around Alexandra to lead her out. "See you guys tomorrow!"

That left just Zach and Hannah.

"Um, wanna go grab something to eat?" asked Zach.

True, she didn't want to be wasting time with a guy who didn't want her. On the other hand, though, she didn't want to spend the night with PPV and room service. So, she agreed to meet him downstairs in thirty minutes. Just as she'd done the night she thought they'd had a chance.


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

Out of spite, Hannah took a little bit longer than usual to get ready for dinner. She put on her most flattering jeans and lowest cut top, made sure to wear her hair down, and put on A-list event worthy make-up. By the look on Zach's face when she stepped off the elevator, it had been worth it.

Hannah had suggested they go somewhere with entertainment for dinner so that they wouldn't have to have awkward conversation, so Zack led way to the hotel's sport's bar that happened to have karaoke that night. After a couple of drinks and dinner, Hannah decided to become part of the entertainment. Zack was beyond shocked when he saw her make her way to the stage to sing.

Hannah got a smirk on her face when the opening chords to "You're So Vain" came across the speakers. Luckily, Zack was so blown away that he didn't even realize she was singing to him. Smart, athletic, gorgeous and talented? He was an idiot! And apparently not the only one who had noticed how amazing she was. There was a line of guys waiting to talk to and buy her a drink when she got off stage. Without even giving him a second glance, she headed off with her suitors. Zack decided that as her PR rep, he should stick close to make sure nothing got out of hand. He told himself that was the only reason he followed the crowd to the patio. Knowing she would be irritated that he was there, he hung back from the crowd, keeping an eye on things. He let her dance, laugh, and drink all she wanted. When he saw her leaving with a guy, he knew it was his duty to step in, though. And he knew it was as much for himself as for the team.

Zach ran up just as the elevator door was closing and put his foot in to stop it. Hannah looked less than thrilled to see him joining her and her new friend.

"Hannah, don't forget we have a meeting in thirty minutes."

"I know of no such meeting. I've already got plans for the remainder of the evening, sorry," she replied without even looking at him.

"Considering you take the ice in about twelve hours, I think you can postpone your plans."

"Considering there's not even a real meeting, you can kiss my ass."

"Excuse me," said Zach, turning to the other guy in the elevator, "I have no idea who you are, and personally don't care. I am sure that you do not want to be known as the guy who cost America there shot at gold, though."

"Look man, I was just going to grab an old magazine article for her to sign, forget it, though," he replied, hopping off as soon as the elevator stopped.

"What the hell?" exploded Hannah as soon as they were shut in the elevator alone.

"It's my job to make sure your reputation stays in tact?"

"And signing an autograph would really ruin my reputation? And what the hell do you know about a good reputation anyway?"

"How was I supposed to know that's what you thought you were going to do? Not usually the first thought when you see two people leave a bar together"

"Thought? That IS what I was going to do. It was for the guy's wife who was home on maternity orders!"

"I apologize if I over reacted, I just didn't want you to do anything rash."

"You mean like the night we hooked up?"

"That's not the same at all, and you know it."

"Yeah, well I also thought I knew you better."

As soon as the door opened, Hannah bolted past him, never looking back to see Zach's look of bewilderment as she took off down the hall.

Why couldn't he have just told her he was wrong? That he wanted to give them a shot? Instead, he had made a complete ass of himself and put an even bigger wedge between them. Not wanting to deal with thinking about it all, Zach got back in the elevator and headed back to the bar.

Hannah threw herself on the bed as soon as she walked in. Maybe she should have just told him that she was only going up with the guy to make him jealous. That she hadn't really agreed with him when he said they wouldn't work. He had to still be interested in her to overreact that much, right? Knowing she would not get a good night's sleep without talking to him, Hannah headed towards Zach's room to clear the air.

After what seemed like hours of knocking, the door to Zach's room finally opened. It was not Zach, however, on the other side. It took Hannah to a minute, but as soon as she figured out it was Celeste Mercier, she took off back to her room, not once stopping to respond to Celeste calling her back. It was like catching Jackson in the coach's office all over again.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

The team knew that in order to have everyone's eyes on the team and their show, they were going to have to deal with the press first. So, at 8am, they met for a quick breakfast and headed off to their press conference. This time, every one walked in coupled off. While the couples ahead were very close, Hannah and Zach kept their distance and never looked at each other.

"Good morning, and thanks for coming. Due to the fact that Hannah and James will be taking the ice in a few hours, I would like to ask that you hold all questions until later today when we celebrate their win. We would, however, like to take this time to make a few announcements and clear the air on a couple of issues that some of you have touched on. I, for one, am happy to announce that yes, Jackie and I are in fact working on getting back together. We do ask for respect and privacy at this time while we work things out, and will be more than happy to talk to you all later when things have settled and decisions have been made."

As Alex finished speaking, Jackie stepped up to the podium to join him and the two smiled together as the photographers went crazy.

"Thanks, we can use all the confidence and support we can get while we work on this reconciliation. Now, I would like to hand the spotlight over to James and Alexandra as they have an announcement of their own," said Jackie, as she took Alex's hand and moved to give James the floor.

"Throughout this whole ordeal, there has been a lot of speculation as to why I would be skating without Alexandra today. A lot of those speculations were dealing with our relationship off the ice. Well, we would like to finally address those."

Alexandra took a deep breath and stepped close to James to make her announcement.

"I am excited to tell you that I will not be competing today because James and I will be welcoming our first child this October."

"And, " interjected James, "as far as our relationship, we will be getting you all together soon to announce our wedding date."

As another round of photographers going crazy ensued, Zach and Hannah took a glance at each other. They knew the media expected to hear something about them, but they really didn't want to ruin all the good news. Instead, Zach simply stepped forward to thank everyone for coming and excuse the team to go get ready to compete.

Hannah took off immediately to get ready, not wanting to watch everyone else kiss their significant others goodbye. Zach knew he should have apologized to her about his actions in the elevator. She was just acting even colder to him than he expected and he wasn't sure the right way to approach it. He was about to ask Alex for advice when his Blackberry started going off. Seeing that it was Celeste, Zach excused himself to find a private place to talk.

"You wanna talk about it?" asked Jackie as she finished zipping Hannah into her seersucker skating dress.

"There's really nothing to talk about."

"If that were true, you'd be in a much better mood."

"It is what it is, ya know? Apparently I'm just built to fall for guys who like to sleep with other women."

"What are you talking about? I thought you quit brooding about Jackson about five minutes after it happened?"

"I wasn't referring to Jackson. I meant Zach."

"Even more confused now."

"I went to go talk to Zach last night, thinking he'd given me the signs that he was maybe regretting saying it wouldn't work with us. So, I did something very unlike me. I sucked it up and went to his room to talk about it. Boy was I surprised when it was Celeste Mercier, not Zach, who opened the door. Talk about déjà vu."

"Have you talked to him about it?"

"Yeah, right. Sucking it up once was tough enough for me. No way in hell am I doing that again."

"Maybe it was a misunderstanding. I know that seems very rare, but in this group, there actually pretty common. Ask anyone who was up there with you this morning."

"Do you actually think that?"

"I'm not sure, but I know you owe it to both you and Zach to find out what happened."

Without responding, Hannah threw on her Uggs and took off running to find Zach. By the time she got to where they'd had the press conference, only Alex and Alexandra were left.

"Have y'all seen Zach?"

"Yeah, I just saw him in the front lobby helping Celeste with her bags."

Not even taking time to get upset that he was again with Celeste, Hannah sprinted to the lobby. She had just finished her mental pep talk when she spotted them, and stopped suddenly.

Seeing them hold each other like they never wanted to let go was enough for Hannah to realize it had not been a misunderstanding. Before they could spot her she turned around and headed back to Jackie, determined not to let what she had just seen effect her performance.


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

Jackie was very impressed with the way Hannah was handling herself. It was obvious to her that things hadn't gone the way her cousin planned, but anyone who hadn't known Hannah her whole life would have no idea. Instead of being her typical drama queen self, Hannah appeared to have pushed whatever happened out of her mind in order to focus on the task at hand.

Perhaps it was the irritation kicking up her adrenaline, but Hannah had never felt more confident in her life. Now that she knew Alexandra's reasoning for missing this, she really wanted to win for her and James. And she wanted to make Alex and Jackie proud. And a small part of her just wanted to prove to Zach what he'd missed out on.

James wasn't sure why he still got nauseous after the number of times he'd done this, but it still happened. This win would be a great story for his unborn child in the stands, and he couldn't wait to tell it. He just needed to focus and get in the moment. They could do this routine in their sleep.

Everyone's pacing and thinking was brought to a stop with the warning they were up next. They all just nodded and headed toward the rink entrance. They then waited for what felt like an eternity to Hannah and not long enough for James. When it was their turn, both took a huge breath and took center ice.

The minute Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck without You" came over the speakers, James and Hannah blocked everything out and became poetry in motion. Jackie caught herself praying the two times Hannah did her once famous triples. She was still amazed that Hannah was still able to land them. So far everything had gone off spotless, but Jackie knew she wouldn't breathe until after they had done the triple axel throw jump. Hannah had decided to throw an around the world jump to it which was either brilliant or disastrous. The minute it went off brilliant, Jackie found herself crying and jumping into her Alex's arms. She caught Hannah's eye as the couple came to a finish and noticed she, too, had tears in her eyes. When Alex put Jackie down she was jumped by both Alexandra and Zach who had rushed down to congratulate the team that was sure to win the gold.

Everyone was so caught up in the moment and then celebrating scores that Hannah hadn't noticed Zach was holding flowers. She figured they were for her or Jackie from the firm, so she wasn't surprised when Zach came to give them to her.

"I know it's not much considering they're congratulations, apology, and request for a second chance all in one, but I didn't have a lot to choose from."

"Wow, well, thanks and I accept the apology. Don't think so on the second chance, though."

"Hannah, I know I said it was bad idea, but I really think it's great. And maybe you're not ready for anything yet, but I'm willing to keep it casual until you are."

"It's not me, it's you. I came to your room last night and Celeste answered the door. I was even willing to hear you out on that one, but when I came to find you and saw you two together, I knew it didn't matter."

"It does matter. Yes, she stayed in my room last night, but I didn't. And yes, I did see her this morning and spend some time with her. But there's nothing there. She's going through a tough time in her marriage right now and I was just an old friend helping out. I even told her about you and she wished us the best."

"Wow, Jackie was right, nothing in this group is ever what it seems," she said, before grabbing him and kissing him just in time for the cameras to turn.

The next day, right below the picture of James and Hannah accepting their gold was various pictures of all of the couples, old, new and reunited. They were all the feel good story of Nationals on so many levels. And they all had about two weeks to enjoy it before the training for the Olympics began.


End file.
